Tong Hua
by DancerxInxThexRain
Summary: After having a strange dream, Sam is now confused about a certain technical producer. How will Sam react when Carly and Freddie start dating? Will Carly and Freddie stay together? Or will Sam and Freddie get together? Only one way to find out! PART 11 UP!
1. Tong Hua

AUTHOR'S NOTE ~ *OK this is a new story called Blush and it's a Seddie fic (duh!)! And like my other story the titles will be names of songs and I'll have the lyrics here and what they mean at the beginning of each chapter. The title is a song by Aly & AJ and when I first heard the song I was instantly reminded of Freddie and Sam, so yea, hope you like it! And one last note, the song I'm talking about in this first chapter is Fairytale by Michael Wong which is a fabulous and really sad Chinese song, really you guys, check it out on youtube or something because I absolutely LOVED it the first time I heard it!*

Blush ~ Aly & AJ *Go ahead and say it. Even though you know it makes me uncomfortable. Go ahead and say it. If you must make me blush.*

_Why the hell am I doing this? This is what they do in fairytales, and my life is no fairytale that's for sure. Plus that kind of stuff, fairytales I mean, are for prissy girls. Girls who believe in princesses and prince charmings and fire breathing dragons and that one day love will prevail and their true love will sweep them off their feet so they can be married and live happily ever after with their prince and princess children. That would never happen to me. Because I'm Sam Puckett. What do I know about fairytales? If that were to happen to me, it'd be the biggest miracle the world had ever allowed. _

Soft music began to play. A video on a large screen began to play. A Chinese man started to sing and the music video showed him and a Chinese girl with their moments together.

"May I have this dance?" a deep voice said behind her.

Sam turned around to find no one other than . . . Freddie?!?

"Freddie, what are you doing here?" Sam asked him. She was not in the mood to call him Freddork or anything to that effect.

"I'm here so I can tell you something, but first, may I have this dance?" He held out his hand and smiled.

"But I'm not . . . dressed or anything and anyway I can't dance." Sam looked down at her sweatshirt and black pants with her dirty sneakers.

"It doesn't matter what you're wearing Sam. You're still beautiful to me." His hand still held out towards her, waiting to join it with her own hand.

Sam put her hand in his and he pulled her close so that their bodies were touching. Her head was surprisingly very close to his head. If this was any other moment, Sam would've headbutted him or do some other severe damage to him. But this moment was different. She didn't want to do any of those things. There was a new feeling sprouting inside of her as he held her close to him, as the music carried them somewhere else other than wherever they were before. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Sam felt her nerves become electrified, as if she were to touch something it would explode automatically. She felt herself become dizzy and her heart started beating faster and faster. She never wanted the moment to end. However, the song ended and they parted, only by the slightest inch. Their faces an inch apart.

"What was it you wanted to tell me?" Sam whispered quietly.

"Sam, what I wanted to tell you is that I love you."

Sam just stared at him. She was lost for words. Freddie Benson, her all-time victim, iCarly co-worker, and best friend was in love with her.

"Sam? Are you all right?" Freddie waved a hand in front of her face, which was a surprise he didn't hit her in the face considering their faces were still so close.

"Freddie, I just don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything." Freddie gently brought his lips down on hers and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Sam just stood there for a second, not realizing what was going on. Then she closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around his neck once again and kissed him back. She felt the jolts of electricity run from her lips all the way throughout her body.

_So this is what a fairytale feels like. _

When Sam opened her eyes once more, she found herself not with Freddie but on the couch of Carly's apartment. She felt something in her arms and found a pillow being squished into her chest. She threw the pillow at the wall and sank back into the couch, trying to figure out what just happened.


	2. Underneath This Smile

AUTHOR'S NOTE ~ Hey everyone! I am pleased with the reviews I've been getting lately on both Blush and On The Ride (which I will try to update soon)! Before I was on quizilla and I was unacknowledged as a writer, so I am very pleased with fanfiction! And I'm excited for Blush! I think it's going to be very promising!

Underneath This Smile ~ Hilary Duff *Underneath this smile, my world is slowly caving in. All the while I'm hanging on because that is all I know.*

"Sam? You slept over?" Carly wondered from behind the couch. Sam didn't hear Carly come to the living room, but then again Sam wasn't exactly focused right that minute.

"Um . . . yea. I-I did," Sam stuttered. She cringed as she did because her best friend knew that there would be a reason that Sam Puckett was stuttering. She cringed even more when she found Carly staring at her.

"Are you OK?" Carly asked with a look of concern growing in her face.

"Yea, I'm ju-just tired, that's all."

"Well you can go back to sleep you know. Rest it up," Carly chuckled.

"Easier said than done," Sam mumbled to herself.

She sat up, grabbed the pillow on the other side of the couch, and held it to her chest as she laid back down and closed her eyes.

_That dream . . . what is it supposed to mean? I mean come on! I kissed Freddie! Freddie Benson!! There has to be something wrong with my brain for that to happen! I definitely don't like him now just because of that stupid dream. I just wish it knew . . . what it all meant. Why did I dream of Freddie? I never dreamt of Jonah or Shane. And I had more intimate experiences with them than . . . Freddie Benson! I mean come on, the boy has tick baths and probably sleeps with his laptop, like that's real attractive! What am I supposed to do when he comes over here, which he definitely will at some point in the day. Oh god this is so . . . weird!_

Suddenly, Sam felt someone shake her arm. She slowly opened her eyes to find Carly standing over her.

"I know I said for you to sleep, but I have to talk to you first. I want to before Freddie comes over here," Carly sat on the couch in front of Sam's legs.

"OK what is it?" Sam asked as she sat back up, still hugging the pillow.

"How would you react . . . if I said that maybe I'm interested in Freddie?" Carly hesitated.

"Whoa! What! Oh my god! When did this happen?" Sam felt the need to shake her best friend.

"I don't know really. Just . . . I don't know. I mean there's no doubt that his deep voice is sexier than before. And you know I guess he is kind of cute. And maybe it wouldn't be so bad dating Freddie." Carly's face was growing pinker as she babbbled on and on. Sam could see Carly trying not to smile, but she was failing miserably. Sam just stared at her, her mouth open a bit.

"So . . . would you be all right with that? Me and Freddie together?" Carly asked.

Sam looked at her best friend. She could see the hope in Carly's eyes. She knew that Carly would be devastated if she said no.

_Dammit Carly. Why now? It shouldn't matter because I don't even like the boy anyway. But still why do I feel this tugging feeling inside my chest. No it's not a tugging. It feels like my heart is plummeting toward the my stomach and I feel like it's going to spill out onto the floor. Then I would be nothing, nothing but a empty shell. But still, if I say no, she's gonna wonder why. And still if I say no, my best friend will be upset. Who would want to hurt their best friend? Carly Shay I blame you for making me make this super hard decision!_

"I guess I would be OK with it. I mean if you're happy, then I'm happy," Sam forced the words out of her.

"Oh my god! Thank you! You cannot believe how happy I am! Oh my god! I so owe you!" Carly squealed. She tackled Sam with a hug that lasted for at least a few minutes.

"Yea, no problem." Sam said as Carly was hugging her.

"I need to go shower before Freddie gets here." Carly got up from the couch and went inside the bathroom, leaving Sam alone.

She let her body sink back into the couch, wondering what she had just done and what would happen next.


	3. Take Me Away

AUTHOR'S NOTE ~ I know how last chapter I was talking about how happy I was getting reviews, that I forgot to THANK EVERYONE who gave me said reviews so **THANK YOU READERS!!! **Anyway, I'm getting really excited again because this story is coming so naturally and easily to me! Which I hope it's a sign that it's gonna turn out good! If you have a Seddie fic you want me to check out, don't be afraid to message me about it too! That's all I have to say! Keep reading! By the way I skipped around in the lyrics part so it would make sense and follow Sam's thinking.

Take Me Away ~ Avril Lavigne *I cannot find a way to describe it. It's there inside, all I do is hide. I wish, that it, would just go away. What would you do, you do if you knew? What would you do? I can't handle this confusion. I'm unable, come and take me away.

A half hour after Carly had went into the shower, Spencer came into the living room, dragging his light-up socks on the floor. He didn't acknowledge Sam's presence as he went into the fridge. By the time he had noticed Sam on his couch, he was just to take a bite out of his pizza slice with an unknown blue substance scattered on it which made Sam curious and nauseous at the same time.

"Why so glum?" Spencer asked with a wondering look on his face. That was the thing about Spencer, he always knew when something was wrong and he was a person you could go to if you had to talk about something. And this was one of them. Plus Spencer had always been a big brother to Sam, of course she was close to him. It wasn't like she was going to be all gushy lovey dovey about it though. Sam moved from the couch over to the countertop and leaned against it.

"Have you ever felt confused about . . . well your feelings for a friend?" Sam asked, hesitating the slightest bit. She wasn't sure if this was something she wanted to talk about just yet. But she knew she could trust Spencer that he wasn't going to tell anyone, especially Carly.

"Sure. I remember one of my high school friends, Katy Roberts. She was cute and we were good friends. Kept going out with wrong guy after wrong guy after wrong guy. And eventually you know, I developed a little something something for her. I never got a chance to tell her though." Spencer sighed and took a bite out of his partially blue pizza.

"Why? You never got a chance to say 'Hey I like you'?"

"She moved our junior year. God I miss her though. I remember she had this long blonde hair, big brown eyes, she really was pretty. And fun too. She always liked to help me with my beginning sculptures. She was great." Spencer looked distant and it was obvious he was remembering all those times with Katy.

"Where did she move to?"

"Somewhere down in California. I have no idea what she's been doing all this time though, it's been at least seven years, maybe eight. She's probably settled down by now."

Sam saw the disappointment in his eyes. She hated that look. Deeply and truly, she loved Spencer like the brother she never had. He was the only stable male role model she had in her life. All of a sudden the door knocked.

"It's Freddie!" Freddie called out from the other side of the door.

"Hey Freddo! Come in!" Spencer called out.

Freddie walked in, looking the same as he always did. Jeans, polo shirt, brown hair as close to neat as it could be, and his big brown eyes with a light so bright, they could practically be stars, shining from millions of miles away. However, in Sam's mind, something was different about him. What it was, that part was uncertain, but there was something, there had to be something because she could feel the butterflies in her stomach, her head grew very light as if she might faint any second, and her heart was beating a million miles a second. Sam drifted back to the couch and sank down in it. Freddie followed her and just looked at her.

"What?" Sam said with a slight edge to her voice. The whole thing was just confusing and overwhelming. And Sam Puckett did not take those two things lightly, she was bound to be a little angry.

"Nothing. You just seem upset about something. I can see it in your face," Freddie pointed out.

"There's nothing wrong. I'm just . . . hungry is all. In fact, I'm gonna go find me some food," Sam got up from the couch and wandered over the fridge where Spencer was eyeing her with a questioning look on his face.

"I'll tell you later," Sam mouthed to him. Spencer gave her a nod and went back to finishing his pizza.

Carly stepped out of the bathroom in a pink fuzzy bathrobe with matching slippers. Her eyes found Freddie right away and the pinkness rose in her cheeks once again, matching the color of her bathrobe and slippers. She moved quietly up to her room so he wouldn't have to see her.

"Where's Carly?" Freddie asked.

"She just got out of the shower, should be down in a few minutes." Spencer answered.

"So what are we gonna do today, Fredward?" Sam, who had given up rifling through the contents of the fridge and moved on to the cabinets. She finally settled on a jar of peanut butter and plopped back onto the couch. Freddie gave her a weird look as she started eating the peanut butter with a giant spoon.

"I don't know. All this week though I'm totally swamped with stuff. So I was hoping we could go over sketches for the next iCarly." It was Sunday which mean they had school the next day.

"I don't care, as long as I have my peanut butter I'm good." Sam said with a mouth full of peanut butter.

Freddie chuckled to himself and stared into space. Sam could feel her heart stop when he smiled. He had a nice smile, it was definitely one of his best qualities. Footsteps were rushing down the stairs and Carly suddenly appeared, looking like she normally did. But Sam knew what Carly was planning on doing today and it ripped every bit of her heart apart and floated down like confetti, to the bottom of her stomach.

"Hey Freddie!" Carly said. She seemed more peppy than usual.

"Hey. Can we plan the next iCarly today? I am so busy this week," Freddie pleaded.

"Sure." Sam could see Carly's extra large smile creep upon her face.

"What are you doing anyway?" Sam decided to butt into the conversation before she became the third wheel.

"My mom signed us up for more mother-son classes. And Mrs. Pid is assigning us that huge project tomorrow. I just have a lot of work and other stuff." Freddie sighed, turned his body and leaned forward so his body hit the couch, face first. Sam decided to take this opputunity. She took one of the pillows off the couch, put it on his head, and sat on the pillow.

"Sam! What are you doing!?! Get off of me!" Freddie's arms started flailing and his legs kicked the empty air. His yelling and protesting usually brought a warm sensation to Sam, making her happier than usual. But this time there was nothing, just a sinking feeling that still laid in the pit of her stomach. Eventually she gave up and got off of his head.

"Was that really necessary?" Freddie yelled.

Sam just shrugged and sat at the counter top.

"Sam, don't sit on his Freddie's head." Carly said plainly. Sam could see a bit of hurt in her eyes. She had no idea why the hurt was there. Maybe Carly was the jealous type and sitting on Freddie's head made her jealous. How much would Sam be able to torture Freddie when he and Carly get together? The thought of not being able to mess with Freddie brought cold shivers to her body.

"Come on, let's go work on the show." Carly interrupted Sam from her thoughts and headed up the stairs, with Freddie following her.

Sam turned around and faced Spencer who had not moved the entire time.

"You were talking about Freddie, weren't you?" Spencer said nonchalantly.

"How long did it take you to figure that one out?" Sam asked plainly. She figured Spencer would have to see it sooner or later.

"After I saw the look on your face when you got off of Freddie's head. That combined with the look on your face after Carly came downstairs was enough." Sam only nodded.

"Sock of silence?" Sam said quickly. Sock of silence was a thing she and Spencer eventually developed when she started telling him things that she wouldn't even tell Carly.

"Sock of silence." Spencer confirmed. And with that, Sam ran up the stairs to start her, from what she could tell, very long day.


	4. Protecting Me

AUTHOR'S NOTE ~ OK this one I'm really excited because there's actually a smidget of SEDDIE in this one *yay claps really hard with lots of cheering*. I feel like I'm on a roll I never update this much! And again I would like to thank everyone who gave me wonderful reviews. You guys are awesome! So read on and find out what's gonna happen! And by the way if it seems like I'm only doing like Aly & AJ songs, I'll try to get more diversity in music styles in there than just the disney pop stuff. Sorry but it fits well!

Protecting Me ~ Aly & AJ *When I feel like crashing down, you seem to be around. There you are, you're not that far cause whenever, wherever, you'll protect me no matter what. Hold me tight with all your might and you'll never let me go.*

The day went by rather slowly, what with Carly's continuous giggling at all of Freddie's jokes and over-flirtatious attitude, no wonder Sam dreaded saying yes. When Freddie finally went home, Carly immediately turned to Sam. It was a nonstop charade of questions and plans and Freddie Benson. Sam was surprised she just didn't throw up on Carly's head. From time to time, Spencer would peek in and Sam would give him a look that completely read "Save me from you psycho sister" but all Spencer could do was shrug and leave the room. By the time it was 10 that night, Carly had fallen asleep and Sam laid awake, unable and afraid to fall asleep.

_Oh my frickin god! Make it end all ready! If this what it's gonna be like 24/7, who knows what I'll do! I'll probably have to go to prison because by then I'll be strangling Carly and probably Freddie too. He's such a nub. He barely noticed Carly flirting with him. After all this time of liking her, she practically throws herself to him and he's completely unaware. When did Carly start liking Freddie anyway? What possessed that girl to like Fredward? The timing is so . . . random! All I know is that this is going to be hell, especially tomorrow. _

The Next Day . . .

Sam scuffed her feet along the dirty sidewalk. The more she dragged her feet, the farther away she'd be from the two things that were annoying her the most: Carly and school.

"Sam can you hurry up? I want to talk to Freddie before first period!" Carly yelled. She was at least a good ten feet ahead of Sam.

"Why would you hurry to school? So teachers can bore you to death?" Sam called out.

"Sam! Please just come on! Anyway, how do you think I could ask him out? Cause there are several different ways I could choose. I could go with the note during class/locker, or I could ask just right out. What do you think Sam?" Carly started rambling.

"Why are you asking me? You know the only relationship experience I've ever had was with Jonah, and you know how that went."

_That little, whiny, bug-eyed freak. God, I'd love to do nothing more then frickin' kick the shit out of him! I always knew there was something up with him, god he's just so . . . what's the word I'm looking for . . . CREEPERISH! The wedgie bounce was not as sastifying as it should've been. Trying to cheat on me with my best friend has a bigger price than a two hour wedgie bounce. That boy still needs to pay up. And he will soon. _

When Sam left her thoughts, the school was in view. Carly was all ready ahead, again. She could hear the bell ring from where she was at. Sam's feet started carrying her across the rest of the way to the school, her feet almost not touching the ground. She didn't even pay attention when she passed Carly, who at this point was running too. Sam had always been faster than Carly. That's because Sam always had to run, whether it was from her mom, stupid boys like Jonah, or some weird pervertish hobo down the street, there was always a reason for Sam to run. Stumbling into school, she saw none other than Freddie Benson, finishing getting the things he needed out of his locker. She stared at him for a bit before walking up to him.

"Good morning Fredward," Sam said plainly. She was trying to act all cool, collected, unafraid like she normally was. But this morning her insides were shaking, her brain felt as if it had a meltdown, and every single nerve in her body was on fire. She couldn't help herself. There was no way to prevent these feelings, so Sam did her best to hide them, even though it seemed impossible.

"Hey. Sam, I have to ask you something," Freddie shut his locker, leaned on the door of it, and turned his body to face her.

"Yea?" Sam felt as if she would explode. She tried to dismiss these feelings away but nothing in her body would listen to her. She was powerless.

"Is it me, or was Carly flirting yesterday? It definitely seemed like it but I'm not sure. Do you know if she was flirting yesterday?"

Sam groaned loudly before violently bumping his shoulder with her own. She was sick of hearing about the flirting and the crushing and everything else that had to do with Carly liking Freddie! Her heart felt as if it was tearing again into little tiny pieces like it had yesterday. She wanted to cry, but she was Sam Puckett, tears were never associated with her.

"What did I say?" Freddie called out to her.

Sam turned around to face him, while still walking backwards. "Whatever Freddork." She didn't bother to turn around until she was stopped. The collision sent her to the ground on her butt. When looking up to see what or who made her fall, she say to her dismay, Jonah standing above her and trying his best not to laugh, in which he was failing miserably.

"Well well well, Samantha Puckett. I knew you'd come back to me sooner or later," Jonah smirked. Sam was about to retaliate when she heard someone yell.

"Hey Jonah! Leave Sam alone!" Freddie was walking up to the scene and he looked angry. Dropping his backpack against the lockers beside him, Freddie rolled up the sleeves of his plain maroon shirt and got threateningly close to Jonah's face.

"Hey Freddie, why don't you be a good little mama's boy and run to class, OK?" Jonah said.

"Hey Jonah, why don't you actually get a sense of humor and a life. I said leave Sam alone." Sam was surprised that Freddie hadn't started growling at this point. She had never seen him so mad before in her life.

"What are you gonna do about it Fredward? Roll over me with your computer cart?"

"Freddie stop! He's not even worth it," Sam said quietly. Freddie looked down at Sam, whose eyes were begging that he wouldn't fight Jonah. She knew without a doubt, that Freddie would lose. And it would be because he was fighting for her.

"Whatever Benson, listen to your meat-head over there and next time stay out of my business. Bye Samantha," Jonah snided before walking off to class.

As soon as Jonah left, Freddie sat down against the lockers, close to Sam. She was still in shock that Freddie Benson, would be standing up for Sam Puckett, out of all people.

"Are you OK?" Freddie asked with a look of concern. For some reason this made Sam blush the slightest tint of crimson. But either Freddie didn't notice or chose not to notice.

"I'm fine. That Jonah is such a frickin . . . " Sam clenched her hands and rested her tense fists on her lap. She wasn't planning on getting up any time soon, so she scooted over next to Freddie, against the lockers.

"Sam, promise me that you'll tell me if he ever bothers you again. OK?" Freddie looked at her with a serious look on his face.

"Freddie I-"

"Say it Sam. I need you to say that you'll come to me if that jerk ever bothers you again. Just say you will."

"OK, I'll come to you if Jonah ever bothers me again."

"Good, now come on we need to get to Mrs. Pid's class." Freddie stood up, but Sam just looked up at him. He looked down at her and offered his hands to help her up. With the help of Freddie, she got up and ran with Freddie to Mrs. Pid's classroom.

"Where the heck is Carly?" Sam wondered aloud. She looked around while she ran to Mrs. PId's class, but there was no sign of the peppy brunette anywhere.

"Whatever, she's probably all ready there," Freddie panted.

By the time they had reached their class, twenty minutes had passed since the bell rang when they were first in the hallway. Sam arrived at the door first and pushed it open with so much force that she almost fell through. The class stared at them both walking in. Mrs. Pid glared at them from the other side of the room. Mrs. Pid was usually a pretty cool teacher when you didn't get in trouble in her class. Her first name was Questa, which to Sam, was a pretty cool name. But everyone called her either Q or Mrs. Pid.

"Sam, Freddie, so nice to finally see you both! Since you two were the last ones to come to my class, I'm assigning you two as partners in our project in which you missed the explanation for. See me after class the both of you," Mrs. Pid said with a syrupy voice which made her sound fake.

_What this can't be happening!!! First Jonah makes me look like an idior in front of Freddie, then I have to do a project with Freddie which is gonna make Carly upset. Grrrrr! What is wrong with my life right now? I should just transfer schools, but that would mean a longer walk to school without Carly Shay. Once again grrrrr! What am I supposed to do about Freddie?? Whatever happens, happens. And for that I'm very scared. _


	5. Bring Me To Life

AUTHOR'S NOTE ~ Hey peoples! Again I'm gettin excited! The only thing I'm not really excited about is the number of reviews I've been getting. I'm not like one of those people who are like 'Give me reviews or I won't update' :P. But the reviews give me the motivation to update faster. And plus they make me feel good! :) So please please please review!!! And I'm officially putting On The Ride on hiatus for a while because I've been so occupied with Blush, I don't want my Degrassi peoples to become annoyed with me so I'm officially putting On The Ride on hiatus. This news will be on my profile too. But yea happy reading and reviewing!

Bring Me To Life ~ Evanescence "How can you see into my eyes like open doors? Leading you down into my core where I've become so numb. Without a soul my spirit sleeping somewhere cold until you find it there and lead it back home."

Class went by quickly for Sam. Mrs. Pid usually didn't care when she slept during her lessons. She was a literature teacher after all. Literature teachers usually were too wrapped up in a dead person's work to be paying attention whether or not their students were paying attention. They were talking about Shakespeare after all. All of the students were either bored or too embarassed to join in with Mrs. Pid's exciting discussions.

"Next class we'll be going into more detail, and you guys, seriously speak up! Freddie and Sam come see me please." Mrs. Pid shouted.

Sam and Freddie slowly made their way to Mrs. Pid's desk. She didn't even have any idea what the project contained so she was scared. Scared because she'd also have to do this with Freddie. Why was she scared, it's Freddie after all!

"You two know we've been talking about Shakespeare so it would be to no surprise that this project is related to Shakespeare. What you're going to do, you're going to be assigned a play which I've all ready chosen for you, since you two were not here. But you are going to pick a scene from that play and reenact it into modern time. You will then present this to the class and explain the transitions from the time in the play to the now. And as for your play, you will be doing . . . Romeo and Juliet. I was shocked that no one picked that one to begin with. Everyone was put into pairs and you two were the only ones left. So you two have fun with that and I expect it in two weeks." Mrs. Pid said. Sam and Freddie just stared at her in shock.

"What! Come on there has to be another play we can choose!" Sam yelled.

"See, you don't have that option because you were both late to my class. If you hadn't come in late, you would've been given the chance to pick the play and your partners. But alas, you were late. So I suggest you two work on this project together and get it done or earn yourselves a zero." And with that she dismissed them. Sam and Freddie slowly walked out of the classroom and Mrs. Pid gave a little chuckle as she watched them walk away. Once outside the classroom Sam turned to Freddie.

"OK, so when are we gonna do this thing?" Sam asked demandingly.

"Well we could just work in my apartment after school. And then we're done we can go over to Carly's to work on the show. That would basically be our week though," Freddie said.

"Well we have two weeks. It's not like we need to get it all done tonight."

"Well I would like to get it done this week. So I don't have to worry about it."

"You would."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Freddie snapped. Sam was shocked, he'd never really snapped at her before.

"Because you're Freddie, it's what you do." Sam said simply. She saw Freddie's face relax. What had that been about? Why did Freddie get so upset all of a sudden?

"Let's just start the project tonight at my place, OK?" Freddie said trying to relax.

"OK, whatever you want to do." And with that Freddie started walking to his next class. The rest of Sam's classes went by rather quickly and soon enough school ended. When she met up with Freddie and Carly, her heart stopped. The familiar breaking that had now become a daily routine for her was starting again. For when she saw Carly and Freddie, they were holding hands, waiting for Sam.

_So Carly finally did it, she asked him out. Not like I care. I could care less that my best friend is going out with my other best friend who I happened to have a dream about that changed my entire image of him. I should be happy for the both of them, at least for Carly anyway. They both got what they wanted. And Freddie's been waiting for this since forever. What is wrong with me anyway? This sinking feeling that happens every once in a while, what is it anyway? I want it to go away, because it's eating me from the inside out, and soon, if this keeps happening, there will be nothing left of me. Even though I don't do this very often, please God, help me, help me become happy again. _

"Hey Sam!" Carly exclaimed. Sam was getting annoyed of her overly peppy tone.

"Are we all set to go?" Sam asked.

"Um . . . yea, we're all set." Freddie said.

"Then let's go." Freddie and Carly started out, hand in hand, while Sam trailed behind them, like a little puppy. And that's how it was the whole walk home, Freddie and Carly ahead while Sam was behind them. They didn't notice, they were too busy wrapped into each other to even notice that Sam was a good ten feet behind, just like that morning. They got to the apartment building and Carly ran inside. Freddie didn't go inside just yet, but said something to Carly, while holding the door open. Sam couldn't hear because she was too far away. Freddie stared at her, while still holding the door as she walked the last ten feet to him. Before she went inside, she looked into Freddie's eyes to find . . . everything inside of them. There was happiness, sadness, anger, love, confusion, everything. Sam was transfixed into his big brown eyes.

"Uh . . . Sam?" Freddie waved a hand in front of her face.

"Right, yea, project, let's go," Sam quickly went inside and ran up the stairs. She could hear footsteps right behind her which meant that Freddie wasn't far behind. When she got to Freddie's apartment, she picked the lock before Freddie even got to the door.

"Hey! Sam!" Freddie yelled. She had closed the door on him and locked it. Feeling triumphant, she settled herself onto a white couch in the middle of the room. A few seconds later, the lock clicked and Freddie walked inside. Sensing his frustration, Sam felt a smirk crawl onto her face. Looking at him, she thought she saw a small grin crawl onto Freddie's face too, but he quickly turned his back to her, walking over to his fridge. With two cans of Peppy Cola in his hands, Freddie joined her on the couch.

"Hey, what was with your little outburst today, Fredward?" Sam asked. She leaned back into the couch.

"What outburst today?" Freddie looked at Sam curious and clueless.

"Today, after class. You just kinda snapped." Sam looked at his face to find any clues to see if he was hiding something. She knew Freddie, even better than Carly. Freddie Benson was not a guy who shared his feelings easily.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Anyway we better get started. Now I got the copy of Romeo and Juliet from the library and I'm thinking -" Freddie started but Sam cut him off.

"Why can't you just tell me? Sam was starting to get angry.

"There's nothing wrong Sam. Let's get started." Freddie picked up the book but Sam grabbed it from his hands and threw it across the room, hitting the front door.

"Why'd you do that?" Freddie was starting to yell too.

"Why won't you tell me what's going on? I know there is something. You say there isn't but I know you better than that Freddie, there's something going on that you're not telling me and I need to know what it is!" Sam stared at him, looking for signs of defeat.

"First of all, you don't need to know, you just want to know. Second of all, there is nothing going on with me. And third of all, I should be asking you the same thing. I've seen how you've been lately. You're not yourself." Freddie looked at her with intensity. Sam looked away, she knew he was right. Even though it had only been about two days since the dream, Freddie had seen that she had changed. She turned her head back to face him.

"You're crazy, Benson. Now let's get started on that project."


	6. Nobody's Home

AUTHOR'S NOTE ~ OK, this chapter is a bit . . . what's the word I'm looking for . . . maybe more depressing than the other chapters. DON'T WORRY LOVE WILL PREVAIL!!! lol jk! But also, updates from now on might be a bit slower since my computer is being a douchebag. But hope you like this chapter even though it's a tad on the sad emotional side! Please review!!!

Nobody's Home ~ Avril Lavigne "She wants to go home. But nobody's home. That's where she lies, broken inside. With no place to go, no place to go, to dry her eyes, broken inside.

Freddie and Sam made no progress whatsoever on their project, probably due to the fact that Sam had no idea what Romeo and Juliet was about and also she kept throwing the book at the door everytime they said something she didn't understand. So, the door was getting close to it's breaking point.

"OK, I think we're done for tonight. You all ready damaged my door one too many times," Freddie said with a sigh. Looking at the door, Sam saw chips where the book kept hitting various spots. She gave a small devilish grin before getting her stuff together.

"So after school, tomorrow?" Sam asked.

"Yea, tomorrow we can actually go over the play and choose which part we want to do."

"All right." Sam got off of Freddie's couch, slung her backpack over her shoulder and started to walk out of the apartment. She turned to go down the stairs so she could go outside, even though it was getting rather dark.

"Where are you going?" Freddie called from the top of the stairs.

"Uh . . . home. Where else?" Sam yelled back to him, despite Lewbert's loud protests.

"Carly's?" Freddie was in sight now at the top of the stairs. She looked at him with unbelievable eyes.

_You've got to be kidding me Benson! You think I want to go over there and watch you and Carly hold hands and giggling and be all cute while I sit there lonely and depressed? I don't think so. I'd rather be at my mom's place at this point. It's the only way I can feel like an actual being again. To be away from you and Carly. _

"I don't think so," Sam started to turn around to leave the apartment building. She heard the footsteps behind her as Freddie ran in front of her and faced her.

"Sam, tell me what's wrong. I know something is wrong. I can see it in your eyes. You're not as happy as you were. Just please tell me what's wrong," the look on his face was a mix of sadness and begging. It was hard for Sam to resist him.

"Why would you want to know anyway Benson?" she screamed. She was starting to get angry. She didn't want him interrogating her like this. Sure the only other person around was Lewbert who was poking his wart to even notice the two angry teenagers in his lobby.

"Because Sam I . . . I can't help it, I care about you, and I want to protect you. Even though my being there wouldn't be all that helpful, I don't care. I still want to help you. And . . . I want to see you be happy again. And I'll do whatever it takes," Sam could see Freddie was having difficulty forming what he was trying to say.

"And how does dating Carly play a part into this whole 'hero' role you have going here?" Sam spat at him. She could feel her blood boiling. She wanted to make him shut up. It all didn't make sense. He started dating Carly so he could help Sam?

"So that's it . . . you don't like the fact that I'm dating Carly! Why? Why does it bother you so much to see me with Carly?" Freddie said.

Sam could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. What was going on? Sam Puckett DEFINITELY did not cry. She bumped her way past Freddie and lowered her head so he couldn't see her face. She ran outside, despite Freddie's calls for her to come back. Now it was pouring rain outside. The drops pelted every inch of her body. She raised her head, so she could feel the drops on her face. She wanted to wash away everything that was happening, and to let things just be normal again. She looked back towards the apartment building to find Freddie no longer calling to her, but still watching her, as if he would need to rescue her at any given moment. Giving one last look, she turned her back towards the apartment building and started walking home, constantly reminding herself not to look back.

The Next Day . . .

Sam woke up to the sun shining brightly in her eyes. She looked around, feeling the wet cement underneath her. She had slept outside that night, for her mother had locked all the doors and hadn't bothered to come see her own daughter on the front steps as she was banging until her knuckles started bleeding. Sam grabbed her backpack, which had dirt and other unmentionables caked on the bottom from where she used it as a pillow the previous night. She slung it over her shoulder, ignoring the dirt falling in her shoes which had shook loose from her bag. She started walking the long distance to school. She had no idea what time it was and no idea what she looked like to other people. But she didn't care about either of these of things. All she cared about was moving forward. As long as she could move her feet, she was content. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a shady pair of guys eyeing her from across the street. Feeling uneasy, she moved as far away from the street as possible. She saw them start to move in the same direction as her. Her nerves started acting up, she was getting jumpy. She was trying not to let fear show, but she was failing miserably. The boys would know that she was afraid. Out of nowhere, Sam bolted down the sidewalk. The two other boys started running too, but they couldn't keep up with Sam. One of the boys even tried throwing a rock at her, but missed. She was heading near Freddie and Carly's apartment building. She headed into one of the alleys, trying to move as fast as she could. If those two boys caught her, there would be some kind of unpleasantry forced upon her. She started climbing up the nearest fire escape. The boys had crossed the street by now and were heading into the alley. She reached the top of the fire escape and crawled through the window. One of the boys had thrown another rock again and she closed the window before the rock could hit her. Sam leaned against the wall, holding her chest. She'd never been so afraid in her life. With her back sliding against the wall, she fell to the ground. Her uneven breathing started to make her feel dizzy, but she couldn't control it. She couldn't sense anything around her.

"Sam?" she heard a distant voice say. She saw a figure heading towards her. Her vision was going in and out. After a few minutes, her vision started clearing up. She could see the person had shaggy brown hair. The person was kneeling, looking right into her face and they were stroking her cheek.

"Freddie?" Sam whispered.

"Sam, what happened?" Freddie demanded, although his tone had an edge of worriness.

She told the story of what happened last night when she walked home. And then waking up outside and walking to school. And the boys who started chasing her. And the fire escape. She was surprised how easily it was to tell him everything, considering yesterday, she didn't even want to see him. Now all she could do was confide into him. Looking at his face, Sam could tell Freddie was trying his best to keep from lashing out. His face had turned a shade of red, his hands clenched into tight fists, and he was holding his breath.

"Can you stand now?" he asked her calmly. Sam just nodded. Her body had calmed itself down and her vision had came back into clear focus.

"Why don't you go take a shower, I'll get you some towels." Freddie got up, leaving Sam alone on the floor. She felt as if she couldn't speak and she didn't know whether or not it was from her body freaking out, or if it was because of Freddie.


	7. The Last Night

AUTHOR'S NOTE ~ This one was a little weird to write. Probably because most of it is seen from Freddie's view and probably also because Sam is asleep most of the time . . . but yea. But that's as good as it's gonna get. So I hope you guys still like it! Review please! I thank everyone who has been reviewing and encourage people to share their opinion on my work. Thank you!

The Last Night ~ Skillet "This is the last night you'll spend alone. Look me in the eyes so I know you know. I'm everywhere you want me to be. The last night you'll spend alone. I'll wrap you in my arms and I won't let go. I'm everything you need to me to be."

After Sam showered and at least attempted to strip away the thoughts and "what ifs" that flowed through her brain, she looked at the clock that was hanging on the living room wall. It was 10:30.

"Freddie!" Sam called out. She gripped her towel even tighter, so she was sure that it wouldn't somehow fall off and she wouldn't be exposed to Freddie.

"Yea?" he poked his head from out of his bedroom. His eyes widened a bit when he saw Sam in just a towel but his face relaxed soon after.

"Um . . . hello? It's Tuesday. We usually have this thing called school."

"I figured today, you could use the day off, especially with everything that happened last night and today." he pointed to his couch which he had laid down several blankets and pillows. He'd brought over a small table that wasn't there before. It was filled with an assortment of various snacks and drinks and the TV remote.

"And you come into play . . . how?"

"In case you need anything, such as food, beverages, emotional support, etc." Sam was shocked that he had done this for her. No one, not even Carly or Spencer had put this much effort into making her feel happy and safe. She slowly walked over to Freddie, who was tensing up, just for the fact that Sam was getting closer to him. She looked at him for a second before wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him. Freddie, surprised, slowly put his arms around her waist, hugging her back.

"Thanks," Sam whispered into his ear.

"No problem," Freddie whispered back.

Sam could feel the butterflies in her stomach. Her body felt jittery and jumpy, due to the electricity flowing to her nerves. She felt dizzy again, but in a good way. She broke away from the hug before she fell over. Turning around, she made her way to the couch. Curling up with the blankets, she immediately fell asleep. Freddie quietly crept over to the couch so he wouldn't wake her and looked at her. When she was awake, she seemed threatening and scary, but when she was asleep, she seemed innocent and childlike. He stayed there for a few minutes, just watching her sleep when he went back into his own room.

Two Hours Later . . .

Freddie, who was doing his homework in his bed, could hear whimperings coming from the living room. Putting his homework down on his bed, he went out to see Sam twitching and whining. Her feet were slightly kicking the blankets off little by little, her breaths uneven. Freddie kneeled so he was in front of her face. He stroked her shoulder, trying to calm her down.

"Sam, it's gonna be all right. You're safe Sam. You're safe," Freddie whispered. Sam's breathing became more even again and she had stopped kicking. She grabbed hold of Freddie's arm. Freddie thought she was conscious and was gonna punch him for waking her up, but she was still asleep. She pulled his arm closer to her body and held it, holding on as if she was afraid to lose it. Freddie sighed, he didn't know what to do. He didn't want to wake her up, she was at peace with everything in her subconscious mind, at least now she was, from what he could tell. Slightly pushing her over to the back of the couch, he slid his body right next to her. Her body slightly moved so part of her was on top of him. He didn't seem to care, he put his other arm around her and held her while she slept.

"You're safe Sam. You're safe now," he whispered. He laid his head on the armrest and stared at the ceiling until his eyelids couldn't take it anymore and he soon fell asleep.

Three Hours Later . . .

Freddie slowly opened his eyes. He looked down to still find Sam sleeping while partially being on top of him. He gave a small smile and started to close his eyes once again. However, loud knocking came from the other side of the door.

"Freddie? It's Carly!" Carly yelled in her overly peppy tone.

Freddie panicked. How was he supposed to explain to his girlfriend that her best friend was sleeping on top of him?

"Just a minute Carls!" he called back to her. He had no idea what he was gonna do. He tried to remove the arm that Sam was still holding after all this time. She had a firm grip, even though she was asleep. When that didn't work, he put the leg that was closest to the end of the couch on the ground and slowly slid the other leg out from underneath Sam's legs. He carefully removed the arm that was wrapped around Sam off of her. The problem now was getting his other arm free. He moved his held arm to the back of Sam's neck and used his free arm to scoop her underneath her legs. From there, he was able to carry her bridal style. He carried her to his room and laid her gently on his bed. Grabbing one of the pillows on his bed, he held the pillow near Sam's hands. She reached out for it and gripped on to it, letting go of Freddie's arm in the process. Now free, Freddie ran to open the door. He saw a hint of annoyance in Carly's face but it soon disappeared and was replaced by fake happiness.

"Hey," Carly said. She looked around the apartment, as if she was looking for something.

"Um . . . hey. What are you doing here?" Freddie said. He didn't want Carly to see Sam. Especially since Sam was in his bedroom.

"A girlfriend can't see his own boyfriend?" Carly kept looking around the room.

"It'd help if you called first or something."

Carly stopped at a corner and stared at something. Freddie's heart started beating loudly, he knew she had found something that she wasn't happy about.

"Um . . . Freddie, question here. Why is Sam's backpack in your apartment?" she held up the backpack in one hand questioningly.

"Uh . . . I can answer that. It's because she left it here when she ran out last night. I was gonna bring it to her during school today but I was sick."

"OK. So you wanna do something?" Carly came closer and held his hands in hers.

"I can't, earlier this week I said I had tons to do remember? Plus I'm sick." Freddie dropped his hands to his sides, forcing Carly to let go of them.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow OK? Promise." Freddie smiled at her. This seemed to reassure Carly and she gave a little smile back to.

"OK. So I'll see you tomorrow then." And with that she left. Freddie took a deep breath. He was secretly glad she was gone. He went back into his room to check on Sam, who sat on his bed, fully awake.

"Hey, you're awake. You hungry?" Freddie asked. He sat next to her on his bed. She shook her head.

"OK then, suit yourself."

"I think I should actually go." Sam said quietly.

"You're not gonna go out there alone?" Freddie immediately sat up and looked at her in shock and disbelief. She couldn't go after what had happened this morning.

"I don't really have any other choice Freddie. Besides, I can't stay here 24/7. I need to get home." she turned her body so she was facing him. He looked at her with disappointment in his eyes.

"At least wait until my mom gets home. She can drive you." Sam nodded.

"Come here." Freddie said and he hugged her. She hugged him back and let her head rest on his shoulder. Sam wanted it to never end, to just stay there for all eternity.


	8. Animal I Have Become

AUTHOR'S NOTE ~ OK so this chapter, I felt anyway was a bit shorter than the other ones, but it has around the same number of words. Maybe I feel it's short because it's more descriptive and has less people talking. Anyway, this chapter was a bit fun to write, but not easy at all! But I hope you enjoy my efforts and don't forget to review! Have fun!

Animal I Have Become ~ Three Days Grace "I can't escape this hell. So many times I've tried, but I'm still caged inside. Somebody get me through this nightmare. I can't control myself. So what if you can see the darkest side of me. No one will ever change this animal I have become."

Mrs. Benson came home around seven that night. When Sam and Freddie came out of Freddie's bedroom to talk to her about driving Sam home, Mrs. Benson nearly fainted. Freddie turned a deep crimson as his mother lectured him about having girls in the apartment when she wasn't home. All Sam could do was try not to giggle. After the entire situation of Sam's past day was explained, Mrs. Benson looked more and more shocked. Freddie of course had to explain. Sam wouldn't have been able to explain this to Freddie's mom.

"Of course I'll drive you Sam. It's no problem whatsoever," Mrs. Benson looked absolutely sorry for Sam. She frantically grabbed her keys and headed out of the apartment. The drive to Sam's was awkward and silent. Sam was thankful that the drive only lasted for about ten minutes. Looking at Mrs. Benson, Sam could see that the closer they got to Sam's trailer, the more nervous she was becoming. Her grip on the steering wheel was gradually tightening. Her face becoming more chalkier and scared.

_God, Freddie's mom is just . . . oh my god. It's like she's never experienced real life before. She's probably been sheltered all her life. God why is she like this? What possessed Freddie's mom to be such a . . . scared, dependent, woman? Obviously without Freddie, she would be a wreck. Freddie's the only reason that she's able to stay sane. Something must've happened to her to make her like this . . . but what? What could've happened to her that would make her like this?_

Sam quickly snapped out of her thoughts when Mrs. Benson was pulling up in front of Sam's trailer. Her eyes widened as soon as she saw all the trash and filth that laid around. Sam followed Mrs. Benson to the steps and knocked on the door. Sam pushed Mrs. Benson aside and rattled the door knob. The door wouldn't budge. Sam knocked on the door, louder than before. Footsteps could be heard from the inside of the trailer. Locks could be heard clicking from the inside and the door swung open.

"Who the hell are you?" Sam's mom shot a look at Mrs. Benson. She didn't even acknowledge Sam's presence. Her mom's light, curly, blonde hair sprung out in wisps all around her head, looking as if she hadn't brushed it in ages. Her eyes had dark circles underneath them. She was wearing black pants and a white tank top. A beer bottle was closed tightly in one of her hands.

"Um . . . excuse me?" Mrs. Benson questioned her rudeness. Obviously Mrs. Benson wasn't accustomed to the way Sam had been talked to by her mother all those years.

"What the hell do you want?" Mrs. Puckett said.

"Well, I was just dropping off Sam. She was over at our apartment and after what had happened this morning, I thought it'd be best if I drop her off myself instead of letting her walk home." Sam could see how much Mrs. Benson was holding back. She could tell that Mrs. Benson was fuming.

"OK, whatever. I don't really care what you do with her." Mrs. Puckett just stared at Mrs. Benson. Sam was starting to get angry with her mom. She could feel the blood boiling inside of her small body.

"How can you not care about your own child?" Mrs. Benson yelled. She stared at Mrs. Puckett like she was some alien that had just asked her to go to the Groovy Smoothie with her.

"Whatever. All I care about is my show, my beer, and my couch. If you've got a problem with that, you can take it up with my fist." Sam cannot believe her own mother just said those things when Sam was in distance of hearing every single word uttered out of her mother's mouth. Sam hated her with every cell in her body. Who knows why she even bothered to try coming home? Execpt, this wasn't really her home. It was just the place where the person who gave birth to her, sat on the couch, getting drunk and watching stupid TV shows.

Mrs. Benson all of a sudden, threw a punch, right in the center of Mrs. Puckett's face, which sent her backwards on the floor. As soon as she did, Mrs. Benson's hands covered her mouth. She definitely wasn't planning on that happening.

"You little bitch!" Mrs. Puckett yelled. She leaped onto Mrs. Benson, wrapping her legs around Mrs. Benson's waist and started hitting the top of her head. Mrs. Benson landed a punch to Mrs. Puckett's ribs, which caused her to fall off of Mrs. Benson. Her current state of soberness had not helped. Mrs. Puckett slowly stood up and slapped Mrs. Benson across the face. Mrs. Benson's eyes widened and she attacked Mrs. Puckett. Mrs. Benson was scratching, clawing, biting, kicking, and flailing every available body part attached to her. She had to bring hurt to Mrs. Puckett, she just simply had to. When Mrs. Benson stopped, Mrs. Puckett slowly slid her way to the couch. Her face was bloodied up by the scratches caused by Mrs. Benson. Other various parts of her body were covered with blood also. She looked so frail, weak, and helpless that Sam, who had been watching the entire thing, started to feel sorry for her heartless mother. But she knew deep inside, that she couldn't come back to what she had called home so many years ago. There was no way she could stay here any more. She looked at Mrs. Benson, who was breathing heavily and leaning on the wall of the inside of the trailer.

"Sam, go get your things," Mrs. Benson said quietly. Sam immediately obeyed. She wanted to leave the awkward scene that was developing more and more. She went into her bedroom, things were scattered all over the place. Clothes, books, papers, pencils, and trash served as a second carpet. Grabbing a small duffel bag of her mother's, she grabbed all of the notebooks that she had filled over the years. There was no way she was leaving them behind. She also grabbed enough clothes that would last her at least a couple of weeks, and her favorite stuffed animal, which was an elephant she had had when she was growing up. It was the only toy she had ever really had. Stuffing everything into the duffel bag, Sam took one last look at her bedroom and closed the door. There was no doubt that she'd never see it again. She threw the bag over her shoulder and stood by Mrs. Benson. She stared at her mother, who sat on the couch, as if Sam and Mrs. Benson had never came, as if Mrs. Benson had never beaten her up inside of her own home.

"Goodbye mom, don't expect me to come back," Sam plainly said. She stared at her mother with fury and rage. She wanted a chance like Mrs. Benson's, a chance to get revenge.

"Good riddance." Mrs. Puckett said without looking up from the TV. And with that Sam and Mrs. Benson left, driving further and further away from the little trailer.


	9. The Outside

AUTHOR'S NOTE ~ This chapter was even more difficult for me to write!! OMG!! I hope at some point it'll get easier for me soon! But thanks to the reviews that everyone's been giving me! But, being the American I am, I still want more reviews lol, so don't stop! Have fun with this one!

The Outside ~ Taylor Swift "So how can I ever try to be better? Nobody ever lets me in. I can still see you. This ain't the best view. On the outside looking in. I've been a lot of lonely places, I've never been on the outside."

Sam walked up the stairs of the apartment building, her bag dragging behind her. Mrs. Benson was right on her trail. This was basically gonna be her home now. She had nowhere else to go. Carly, Freddie, Spencer, and dare she say it, Mrs Benson were the only members of her family now. She took a deep breath as she reached for the doorknob of Freddie's apartment. She slowly opened the door and found Freddie standing at the door.

"Mom, how'd it . . . Sam? What are you doing here? I thought my mom drove you home." Freddie questioned her. She looked at Mrs. Benson who nodded her head. Sam threw her bag to the floor, grabbed Freddie's hand, and led him to his room. Freddie sat on the bed while Sam took her time closing the door. How was she supposed to tell him that their moms got into a bitch fight? She sat next to him on the bed and took a deep breath.

"This is basically what happened -" Sam started out.

"I don't want basically, I want to know what happened." Freddie interrupted her.

Sam told him what happened, every detail, from start to finish. Freddie's jaw dropped when Sam got to the part about his mom attacking her mom. After Sam finished, a single tear rolled down her cheek. Freddie used his thumb to gently wipe it away.

"So, what's gonna happen now? Are you staying here?" Freddie asked.

"Just until we talk to Carly and Spencer. The plan is for all of us to talk and work this whole thing out. Honestly, you guys are my only family. I have no one else. My mom wasn't even my family anyway, she was just a person who happened to live with me . . . and give birth to me." Freddie gulped at the thought of Sam living with him. How well would she take it? She had all ready got insanely jealous when she found Sam's backpack there. Living with his girlfriend's best friend was a whole new level of drama.

"Are you gonna be OK?" Freddie asked her cautiously. He didn't want to make her even more upset than she all ready was. But how could she be at this point?

"Eventually. I'm sorta glad to be leaving her actually. All she did was drink beer and sit in front of the TV and sleep around from time to time. That's the only way we got money . . . and food." Sam blurted out. She had never really told anyone about her home life. Not even Spencer. But with Freddie, the words just ran out of her mouth, she couldn't control them.

"No wonder you raid the fridge every time we get to Carly's." Freddie joked. His face produced a little half smile. Every afternoon before that moment came rushing back to his head. He could see Sam repeatedly saying that she was hungry and go into the fridge. Now he could see why.

"Yea." Sam chuckled. Awkward silence filled the room. Sam laid back so that her head, neck, and shoulders hung off the bed. Her hair barely touched the floor. She liked the feeling of the blood rushing to her head, feeling as if that the feeling made it impossible for her to process her thoughts, however that didn't work. She closed her eyes as the thoughts just played in her head.

_Oh my frickin' god! This is gonna be impossible for me to do! It's gonna be like the Creddie show 24/7. The only good part about going to that stupid trailer these last couple of days, I didn't have to see Freddie and Carly together. Actually the only times they've really been hanging out was during school. He's been hanging out with me. Why would he choose to hang out with me over his own girlfriend?_

Sam opened her eyes. Right in front of her was Freddie, staring right at her. She slightly jumped, causing her body to lurch forward a bit.

"Oh my god Freddie! Don't scare me like that you douche!" she exasperated. Freddie just laughed, which made her want to laugh along with him. A small chuckle rose in her throat.

"Anyway, enough scaring and drama for one night, I think I'm gonna head off to bed." Sam lifted herself off of the bed and left Freddie's room. She used the blankets and pillows that she had used earlier that day and made herself comfortable on the couch in the living room.

Mrs. Benson just looked at Sam and shook her head. She felt so bad for Sam, she couldn't just leave her in that run down trailer. God only knows what else was going on in that trailer. She moved towards the couch and fixed the blankets that were on Sam. She then went inside her own room after turning off the lights and praying that Sam would be all right.

The Next Day . . .

That morning, Sam woke up to loud, rapid knocking. Groaning, she slid out of the couch and dragged her feet across the floor to look into the little peephole. She saw the long dark hair, small form, and big brown eyes and confirmed the loud person to be her friend, Carly. She opened the door slowly and looked at her frantic best friend, who attacked her in a hug as soon as Sam had finished opening the door.

"Oh my god Sam! I'm so sorry for you!" Carly said quickly. Sam thought she was going to seriously cry. Carly just stood there hugging her, not letting go for a second.

"Seriously, I'm OK. We just need to work out what's gonna happen next. But in the end, if it's OK, I think I'm gonna end up living with you and Spencer. Me, Freddie, and Mrs. Benson would be too much for me to handle." Sam said after her best friend had let her go.

"That's totally cool with me and Spencer. We want to help you in any way possible. We don't mind taking you in at all." Carly said quickly again.

"OK, you need to lay off the caffeine in the morning. Seriously, I'm thinking you'll explode or something." Sam slowly moved back to the couch, with Carly right behind her.

"I just had two cups of coffee, there's nothing wrong with that. Nothing, nope nothing at all." Carly smiled. Sam just looked at her weirdly.

"I have to remind myself to tell Spencer to give you DECAF!" she yelled the last word in Carly's ear so she would get the gist.

"OK OK, you don't have to be so loud." Carly said quietly. Sam just laughed and stared at the door in front of her. She didn't know why she was staring at a door, it was just something other than Carly. There was nothing wrong with her, it was just that whenever Sam saw Carly, a tightening, twisting, turning feeling formed in her stomach.

"So you're gonna be living with Freddie for at least a couple more days." Carly said quietly again, she was quiet but totally serious.

"Yea, I know, you can shoot me now. Just get it over with." Sam said. Carly chuckled. All was quiet, except for the shuffling of Freddie's and Mrs. Benson's feet moving around in their own rooms.

"I think I better go get ready, you know, school and everything." Sam said quietly, not bothering to look at Carly.

"OK." Carly just sighed. She knew that she was losing her best friend, little by little. And that was what scared her the most. How long was it going to take for Carly to lose her best friend?


	10. Don't Dream It's Over

AUTHOR'S NOTE ~ OK first of all let me say, that I am so sorry I haven't updated in over a week. My computer finally basically died and we finally revived it. :P . But I'm on April vacay so to make up for it, I'm gonna try to get more than one update in per day. And this fic may seem very depressive but it gets better, promise :) .

Don't Dream It's Over ~ Sixpence None The Richer "There's a battle ahead, many battles are lost. But you'll never reach the end of the road while you're travelling with me."

School was normal. At least Sam thought it was. Everywhere she went, people were whispering and pointing. Usually this happened during one of Sam's infamous fights, but it had been at least a few weeks since Sam had really fought anyone. It happened all throughout the day. Even the teachers were whispering and staring at her. One of the teachers, Mrs. Figg, put her hand on Sam's shoulder and told her how sorry she was. Sam didn't say anything but just brushed it off. Then it hit her. They were all talking about her mom. Somehow word had gotten out about the bitch fight between Mrs. Benson and her mom. Now they all knew of her current situation. But how could they know? The bell rang, interrupting Sam from her thoughts. She was currently in Spanish, which Carly and Freddie were not in. She grabbed her bag and ran out of the door, frantically looking throughout the halls. Carly and Freddie had to be around somewhere. She finally spotted them next to Carly's locker, they were talking in hushed tones, and they didn't look happy.

"Did you guys tell anyone?" Sam asked them abruptly. They just stared at her, surprised that she would even come near them.

"Well? Did you guys tell anyone?" Sam's voice was getting louder. She was getting angrier by the second.

"I didn't tell anyone for sure." Carly confirmed. She knew what Sam was talking about. Even though Sam wasn't exactly close to her mom, she knew how much this had been affecting her. Sam turned towards Freddie who's mouth was hanging open.

"I swear I didn't tell anyone. You know I wouldn't." Freddie said. Sam knew he wouldn't. But she still couldn't figure out how everyone knew. Carly suddenly looked down at her pants and pulled out her vibrating phone. She flipped it open and stared.

"Gibby just texted me. He said to check out a video on Splashface when we get home." Carly said sadly.

"What's the video?" Sam stared at her. She wanted to know.

"Let's just get home." Carly said quickly. She turned around and started walking out the door, leaving Sam and Freddie by the lockers.

"Come on." Freddie said quietly. He pulled on Sam's arm and followed Carly out of the school.

_Why is everyone acting so freakishly depressive? And why did Gibby tell Carly to check out a video on Splashface? Could it be why everyone's been acting so creeperish? I just want to know why everyone's acting like this, and then again, I don't want to know. I don't want to know because I know that whatever's on Splashface, it's gonna be bad. _

As soon as Carly opened the school doors, she was walking as fast as she could. Sam lagged behind while Freddie stayed in the middle. As soon as the three of them were close to the apartment building, Freddie slowed down, until he was walking side by side with Sam.

"Are you gonna be OK?" Freddie asked her. He was looking right into her. He could see all of the fear, sadness, and slight anger that was built inside of her.

"Yea I'll be fine. Whatever it is." Sam didn't even bother looking up at him. She knew that whatever the video was about, it was about her and it was going to be bad.

"Well whatever it is, you know I'll be here, right?" Freddie tried to make Sam look at him but she kept her eyes focused on the sidewalk underneath her feet. Freddie gave up when they arrived to the apartment building. Carly didn't even bother waiting for him since she was all ready inside. Freddie rushed to Carly's apartment but Sam took her time. She didn't want to know what the video was about anymore. She knew that it would just make her even more depressed than she all ready was. But she entered Carly's apartment anyway. Carly and Freddie looked at her with sad eyes as she made her way to the computer. Sam just watched as Carly clicked the play button on the splashface video. Sam was shocked as she watched Mrs. Benson and her mom, fighting in the doorway of Sam's trailer. She could see herself standing outside of the door, not doing anything but standing there, in complete shock, like she was now. Then the Sam in the video went inside the trailer and came back with the bag that had carried all of her stuff. Then Sam's mom was yelling, saying the same things that she had said to Sam when she left, about how she didn't care about her. Sam could feel the tears coming as the familiar voice kept replaying over and over in her head. About a few seconds before the video was done, Sam ran. Away from the computer, away from Carly's apartment, away from the apartment building itself. She just kept running. The tears flowed down her face. She kept running until she couldn't run anymore. She had no idea where she was. All she knew was that she had ran for quite a bit and that she was no way near home. She sat on the sidewalk and just stared into space. The sun was starting to set. Headlights flashed in front of her face. Sam got up and just kept running. There was no way she could deal with any losers tonight. She would totally lose it. But eventually her legs gave out from underneath her and she fell on the sidewalk. The car not far behind her. Her legs were jelly as she tried to stand back up. Her body refused to keep going. The car door opened and someone called her name.

"Sam!" she heard the voice yell. The voice sounded familiar, but she was too scared to realize who it was. They came running towards her and she backed herself into a wall of a building. The person kept walking forward and getting closer. Sam closed her eyes, she didn't want to see their face. She felt them touch her shoulder and her leg shot out, connecting with their knee. They groaned and fell to the ground. That was when Sam opened her eyes and saw Freddie. He was holding his knee and laying on the ground. His eyes were tightly shut. Sam felt the guilt take over her fear immediately.

"Freddie?" Sam asked. Freddie finally opened his eyes. She could see the anger in every part of his face.

"Yea, it's me Freddie. Who did you think it was?" Freddie was trying not to yell but was failing horribly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think -" Sam stopped there. She couldn't get the words out. They were lost in her brain, just floating around.

"You think we'd really leave you stranded out here?" Freddie yelled once again. Sam didn't say anything. She just looked down once again.

"Come on, let's go." Freddie said softly. She saw him get up slowly. He offered out his hand to her and smiled at her. He could never be mad at her for long. She took his hand as he pulled her off of the ground. She looked into the car to find Spencer and Carly in the front seats. They looked worried as she and Freddie continued to walk toward the car. Worried, with a hint of relief. They were about halfway from the car when Freddie stopped Sam from walking any further.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Why did you run?" Freddie asked simply.

"I don't know. I just felt I had to. Natural reaction." Sam answered simply.

"Well, you don't have to run anymore. OK?" Freddie gave her a smile and they both got into the car, on their way home.


	11. Sorry

AUTHOR'S NOTE ~ OK I realize that this is in no way as long as the others. I also know that all I'm doing is making excuses when I say that the reason I haven't been updating more frequently these past two weeks is because my best guy friend is giving me serious issues. I hate him and I'm in total love with him at the same time. So it's just been kinda hard to write about Seddie when there's his dick-headed ways carved into my head. I know that it doesn't make up for the days when I could've been updating but all I can do now is let you know what's been going on and make it better. So please review! I know I haven't been really updating but that doesn't mean that you guys can't tell me what you think! And this chapter was really hard to find a song too, doesn't exactly fit but it was the best I could find. If you guys have a better suggestion for a song, then don't hesitate at all to tell me, because this is the best I can do.

Sorry ~ The Jonas Brothers "I realize I let you down. Told you that I'd be around. I'm building up the strength just to say I'm sorry."

The Next Day . . .

Sam woke up, snuggled into the Benson's couch. She grabbed her phone that was sitting in her bag right next to the couch. It was only 6. She groaned and let her head hit the pillow again.

"Having issues over there?" she heard behind her. Sam lifted her head once more and saw Freddie in a blue t-shirt and black boxers. His brown hair was very messy and his eyes only half open. Even when he was tired, he had enough energy to make sarcastic comments. Sam just groaned again and let her head hit the pillow again. She watched as Freddie moved around the kitchen area, her eyes not leaving him. He turned around and caught Sam looking at him.

"What?" Freddie asked tiredly. Sam quickly turned her eyes away from him and let her head hit the pillow once more. She pretended to go to sleep, but it was no use. Freddie knew she was awake. He dragged his feet over to the couch and smirked. Grabbing one of the extra pillows, he hit Sam's head with it. Sam shot up and stared at him, trying to fight back a smile. Grabbing her own pillow, she hit him upside the head with it repeatedly.

"Sam! Cut it out!" Freddie said in a hushed tone, even though he was trying his best not to laugh. He eventually had to let it go and the laughs came, filling the apartment. Sam started laughing too. She had no idea why, just because Freddie was laughing. They both leaned back into the couch and stared into space. A door creaked, and Mrs. Benson stepped into the room, staring at the couch. A look spread across her face, but she quickly dismissed it and entered the kitchen.

"I should probably get ready for school," Freddie muttered and made his way towards the bathroom. Once Freddie was out of sight, Mrs. Benson turned towards Sam.

"Sam, I need to talk to you about . . . Freddie," she started. Sam knew it could only get worse from here. Mrs. Benson moved from the kitchen area to the couch.

"OK. About what?"

"Sam, I can see it. I may be overprotective, a worrier, and completely cautious, but that doesn't mean I'm blind to everything else. I can see that you like Freddie. And I know he's with Carly. So, for the sake of your friendships, for all of you, you need to let Freddie and Carly have their relationship and not get in the way of things. Freddie is so happy right now. Any drama between the three of you could mess that up and I don't want Freddie to become unhappy. Understand?" Mrs. Benson concluded. She had said all this gently like she was Sam's best friend. But every word that Mrs. Benson did say, ripped Sam's heart in half, over and over again.

"So you want me to stop hanging out with Freddie so much? I'm one of his friends! How can you ask me to do that? Seriously, am I a disease or something?" Sam was starting to yell. Her blood was boiling. Everything that Mrs. Benson had done for her within the past couple of days had erased itself from Sam's memory and was replaced with the image of Sam punching her in the face.

"I just don't want Freddie to become unhappy . . . " Mrs. Benson started but Sam cut her off.

"How do you know what makes him happy? How do you know that being with Carly is what he really wants? You don't know that! You don't know him! I don't care if you're his mom. Moms never know what their children truly want unless they're too stupid to tell them!" Sam yelled. She immediately felt bad after saying those words and seeing Mrs. Benson's face.

"You're probably right. What do I know, I'm only his mother. I'm sorry." Mrs. Benson said quietly. With that, she left the couch and went on into the kitchen. A few minutes later, Freddie peeked his head outside the bathroom door, staring at Sam until she finally looked back at him.

'What did you do' Freddie mouthed to her. Sam could feel the guilt growing in her stomach and spreading throughout her body.

'I'll tell you later' Sam mouthed back. She had a feeling that this wasn't gonna sit well with Freddie, considering it was Freddie's mom that Sam had just insulted. She was sure that her words were the equivalent to a slap in the face or multiple slaps.

_Shit! Why did I have to open my mouth? Mrs. Benson has been nothing but good and I have to go and break her frickin' heart. It's not like Freddie's gonna like this either. There's no doubt that he's gonna be mad, furious actually. The only thing I can do is to fix this. Somehow, I'm gonna fix this or Freddie will probably never forgive me. _


End file.
